Thanks go to SnarkyMuch2 for beta'ing this and for always indulging my love of a limp Sam.

Dark Water

Dean's head breached the surface of the water, and he clung to Lucas as if his life depended on it. Lucas's life did. Dean didn't know how long he had been in the water; he had lost track of time as he dived in and out of the cold water.

"Lucas!" Andrea was kneeling on the deck, holding her hands out to Dean and Lucas.

"He's… okay," Dean panted.

He kicked them over to the dock, making sure to keep Lucas's head out of the water. Andrea caught Lucas's shirtsleeve when they got close enough, and she gripped it tight, as if scared he was going to disappear. When they were close enough, she scooped her arms around Lucas and dragged him onto the dock.

As he was laid down on the wooden planks, the kid's eyes opened and he coughed, sending a spout of water into the air.

Andrea sat him up and patted his back gently. The kid's eyes were open now, and he looked terrified. Dean guessed being dragged underwater by a vengeful spirit was scary enough for anyone, let alone a kid.

He started to cry, and his mother cradled him to her chest. "It's okay, sweetie, you're okay," she cooed.

In the panic of getting Lucas onto the dock and making sure he was breathing, Dean had forgotten about his brother. He scanned the shore, expecting to see Sam pulling himself out of the water, looking bedraggled and pissed, but he was nowhere in sight. Dean's heart contracted painfully in his chest, and he jumped to his feet.

"Sam!"

He dived back into the water and submerged himself, searching the dark water for a sign of his brother. He fought the need for air as kick his way deeper into the water, and his lungs burned. Hating himself, he kicked back to the surface and his head broke the surface of the water.

"Have you seen him?" he asked Andrea.

She shook her head, still cradling Lucas to her chest.

Cursing, Dean drew in a deep breath and dove back under the water. He kicked down and powered his arms through the water, forcing himself down through the water. He tried not to think of how long it had been since he had last seen Sam, but his mind was counting the minutes. It had been too long.

He broke the water once more and drew in a deep breath before diving again. This time he angled himself further from the dock, thinking maybe Sam had lost direction in the water. He saw a shape below him, and he swam towards it only to find it was a barrel at the bottom of the lake.

Cursing internally, he kicked up from the bottom and breached the surface of the water once again. Drawing deep lungfuls of air, he prepared to dive again, but Andrea's shout reached him.

"There!"

Dean looked in the direction she was pointing, and what he saw almost stopped his heart. Sam was floating on the surface of the water, unmoving.

"Call an ambulance!" he shouted, even as he powered through the water in the direction of his brother.

Sam was floating on his back, and water was lapping at his face, but he didn't seem to notice. His eyes were staring blindly up at the blue sky, and his mouth was slightly parted.

Dean caught Sam's shoulder and pulled him towards him. It sickened him how easily his brother bobbed towards him with no resistance from Sam.

"Jesus, Sammy," he said in a choked voice.

He wrapped an arm around his brother's neck, holding his head out of the water, and began to kick them both to shore.

"Just hold on a little longer, Sammy," he said. "We're going to get you out of here."

He knew he wouldn't have the strength to pull Sam onto the dock, even if he wasn't exhausted, so he propelled them towards the shore. Andrea saw where he was going, and as Dean's feet met the stony shore, she was waiting there for him. Lucas was standing behind her, wrapped in a blanket.

Dean dragged Sam through the shallow water until only his legs were submerged. Then he eased Sam down onto the shale and dropped to his knees beside him.

"Sammy!" he said loudly, tapping his brother's face.

Sam's head lolled to the side and came to rest against the stony shore. Dean pressed shaking fingertips to Sam's neck and searched for a pulse. Panic seized him as he registered its absence. He watched Sam's chest for the rise and fall of breath but there was none.

"C'mon, Sammy, don't do this," he said desperately.

"CPR!" Andrea said, dropping to her knees opposite Dean.

Dean cursed his stupidity. He had been so shocked and overwhelmed by what had happened that he had forgotten what his father had ingrained in him: save first, panic later.

Andrea tilted Sam's head back, clearing his airway, and then she blew two deep breaths into his mouth.

Dean watched Sam's chest rise and fall with the forced breaths, and a tear welled at the corner of his eye. It was his baby brother lying there.

Andrea positioned her hands over Sam's sternum and pressed down.

Dean's senses caught up with him, and he pushed her hands away. "I can do that."

He clasped his hands over Sam's chest and began compressions. At regular intervals he paused to allow Andrea to breathe into Sam lungs.

"C'mon, Sammy, breathe dammit," Dean said through gritted teeth.

They worked in tandem for countless minutes. Lucas watched on with a haunted expression. Dean would have sent him away, to save him from the grisly scene, but he barely noticed his presence. All his focus was on his brother who still wasn't breathing.

The more time that passed, the more desperate Dean became, and the harder he tried to ignore the voice at the back of his mind that whispered that Sam may not come back from this.

"Sam, please," he said in a chocked voice.

Suddenly, Sam coughed and ejected a stream of water. Dean gripped him under the shoulders and held him against his chest.

"It's okay, Sammy. You're okay," he chanted. "I'm here."

Sam drew in a gasping breath and coughed again. Dean patted his back as he struggled to catch his breath.

Dean felt the tears pooling at the corner of his eyes and trailing down his cheeks. He held Sam a little closer to him. He had so close to losing him. Every breath felt like a gift.

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